Hillary Clinton reportedly plans to announce her candidacy for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination in April. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday Clinton and her close advisers decided on the move to allay uncertainties and boost fundraising. [Snip] Clinton had been expected to put off an announcement until summer, but donors had been holding back, thwarting fundraising efforts. A source told the Journal John Podesta played a big role in the decision. She is expected to skip the step of forming an exploratory committee. Money appears to be the issue.

Black Caucus Democrats are planning to walk out during Netanyahu’s speech on the security of Israel. The move was reportedly planned after communications with the Obama White House. In response to this outrageous act, conservative black ministers are holding a press conference to show their support for the Israeli Prime Minister. Urban Cure reported: Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu will address a joint session of congress on March 3rd, and in a political move, leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus are planning to skip the speech in protest of Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to Netanyahu to do so. While the Congressional...

State Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Union) tonight acknowledged that her husband got help from a non-profit group that assists low-income homeowners in demolishing a shore home severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy that records show had been purchased for nearly a half-million dollars. The owner of the Manasquan home — identified in public records as Richard Stender, the assemblywoman's husband — applied to Monmouth County-based Coastal Habitat for Humanity for help, said Maureen Mulligan, the group's executive director.

The United States military does not currently have the ability to fight two major wars simultaneously, according to a new report, a significant reduction from the capacity enjoyed by defense officials for decades. The Heritage Foundation’s "2015 Index of U.S. Military Strength" concludes that the armed forces “would be ill-equipped to handle two, near-simultaneous major regional contingencies (MRC).” The two-MRC goal was largely attained during the Cold War, when U.S. forces engaged in a conflict every 15 to 20 years while maintaining ground forces in other regions to ensure stability and deter aggressors. That strategy enables the U.S. military to...

The Democratic National Committee Saturday released a report blaming the lack of a central narrative and waning support from Southern, white voters for "devastating" losses in midterm elections and at the state level. “It is strongly believed that the Democratic Party is loosely understood as a long list of policy statements and not as people with a common set of core values (fairness, equality, opportunity),” said the long-awaited DNC autopsy of what went wrong for the party in 2010 and 2014. [Snip] Democrats, most recently President Obama, suggested that Americans side with liberals on most issues — they just say...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are struggling to answer a simple question -- "What's a Democrat?" -- and must do a better job of explaining its core values to voters, according to a task force formed after the party's dismal showing in the 2014 election. **SNIP** It calls for more financial support and training for state parties in a return to the principles behind the "50-state strategy" promoted by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who led the DNC from 2005 to 2009. That approach aimed to compete in state and local elections throughout the country, even in states dominated by Republicans....

Former small town Democratic Party chairman 'plotted to hire hit man to kill girls aged nine and ten who he molested' before they could testify against him A former chairman of the Falls Church Democratic Party charged with molesting two young girls is accused of plotting to have them killed before they testified against him during his trial. Michael Gardner, 50, from Falls Church, Virginia, is said to have approached an inmate in 2013 about finding a hit man to kill the young girls. The inmate he contacted notified police in January about their multiple conversations, according to court documents....

http://freebeacon.com/culture/joe-bidens-hands-across-america/ Vice President Joe Biden can’t keep his hands to himself when women are around. The latest woman to fall into the Biden snare was Stephanie Carter, wife of new Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Biden laid hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear as Carter spoke about his new job Tuesday, and the moment went viral. Biden also made bad headlines for himself in January when, during a day of trying to charm incoming members of the U.S. Senate and their families, he bestowed a rather unwanted kiss on the head of Sen. Christopher Coons’ (D., Del.) daughter....

ATHENS, Ohio — Suspended Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly was led away in handcuffs yesterday after a jury found him guilty of 18 crimes, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Visiting Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove revoked Kelly’s bond. She said he needed to be incarcerated because he posed a flight risk and his conviction on the corrupt-activity charge, a first-degree felony, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Kelly, 64, could face even more prison time if the judge orders the sentences for his convictions to run consecutively. Cosgrove set sentencing for March 20. Kelly’s conviction...

John Kitzhaber, the Democratic governor of Oregon was sworn into his fourth term of office just last month. But it seems highly unlikely he will be able to survive this month in office. Last October, the Willamette Weekly newspaper published an exposé showing how the governor’s fiancé, Cylvia Hayes, was taking money as a private consultant to environment groups and then pushing their policies in her public role as “First Lady” of the state. Most infamously, she ordered state employees to follow a policy she was being paid $25,000 by an advocacy group to promote. Apparently, some of the money...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5IqH7oJ9h4TRANSCRIPT In 2008, American Jews voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. Even though Obama had spent large segments of his prior life hobnobbing with vicious anti-Semites like Jeremiah Wright and Rashid Khalidi, even though he had staffed his campaign with anti-Semites ranging from Zbigniew Brzezinski to Robert Malley, Jews turned out in droves for him. Sarah Silverman harangued young Jews into telling their grandparents that they were racist if they didn’t vote for him; Jeffrey Goldberg, Obama’s designated court Jew – a role he has never relinquished -- informed Jews that they were racist if they feared Senator Obama’s positions on...

Famed Democrat strategist Pat Caddell is one of the most unvarnished, independent critics of Washington elites. Living in Charleston, S.C., he commutes to New York for his Fox News show, “Political Insiders,” following successful careers in Washington and Hollywood. This surprising, far-ranging video interview details his personal path defending ordinary citizens, while sounding more pro-American than most in his political party.

**SNIP** Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), who convened the private meeting with other lawmakers, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is all but saying that Netanyahu is not welcome to address Congress. “I don’t know whether the prime minister would consider not coming, but I think there’s some considerations about whether that should be considered,” Mr. Israel said. “Hopefully a way will be found to defuse an unnecessarily tense situation.” Democrats are worried that Netanyahu’s speech will show the world just how big of a rift exists between the U.S. and Israel. Talk about showing someone the back of their hand, as...

Joe Biden will skip Israeli Prime Minister’s Congressional speech in March. He is going to leave the country. Minority Leader Pelosi says Democrats will be busy and she hopes the event won’t take place. And now we know that the Obama administration told Black Caucus members to skip the speech and to publicly speak out against it. The Daily Mail reported: Two prominent black Democrats in the House of Representatives are vowing to skip Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress next month, a move that a White House insider says was put in motion by the Obama administration.

FULL TITLE: Chilling video shows chief of staff affirming that Dem. congressman ‘does not believe in legal protection for females’ in the womb The top staffer in Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan's office has agreed that his boss “does not believe in legal protection for females” who are inside the womb, a shocking new video reveals. Yesterday, about a dozen members of Students for Life of America (SFLA) followed through with a visit to the Washington offices of Congressman Tim Ryan, a onetime “pro-life Democrat” who recently embraced abortion-on-demand. Congressman Ryan was not available, they were told, but they had a...

You almost have to feel sorry for new Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf (D). The man’s just moved into Harrisburg, gotten his voice mail straightened out, starting to get a feel for the morning commute, and then WHAMM! – his (Democratic) Attorney General (Kathleen Kane) is on the verge of being indicted for perjury and his (Democratic) Treasurer (Rob McCord) is resigning, not to mention preparing to plead out on extortion charges:

Bill Clinton’s alleged mistress Julie McMahon was donating to Hillary Clinton while she was having an affair. She also worked for a controversial securities firm. The Daily Mail reported that McMahon dubbed the “Energizer” by Secret Service met Clinton in 1998 while he was still in the White House. The Mail also stated that McMahon was seeing Clinton sexually for 13 years in 2014. McMahon, the daughter of a wealthy Democratic donor, donated to Hillary in 2000 and 2002. ... McMahon was listed as unemployed for most of her political donations but we found that she’s a director at Energy...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Rob McCord, who resigned abruptly Friday after serving six years as Pennsylvania's elected treasurer, plans to plead guilty to federal charges accusing him of using his office to threaten potential campaign donors during his failed gubernatorial primary race last year... Rest at link here

Attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch won the backing of a senior Republican senator during the second day of her Senate hearings Thursday, a big step on her path to be confirmed as the first black woman to lead the Justice Department. [Snip] "I'm going to be a strong supporter of her nomination," Hatch told the witnesses. "And I believe she's not only qualified, but exceptionally well qualified, and a very good person, to boot." Two other committee Republicans, Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona, have indicated they'll support her nomination, which would give her the...

State Treasurer Rob McCord's unexpected announcement on Thursday of his resignation, effective Feb. 12, gave rise to speculation about what brought it about so suddenly. Then within hours after issuing a news release saying he was returning to the private sector after having achieved all of his goals as treasurer, three media outlets cited anonymous sources confirming that McCord is under federal investigation. Philadelphia TV station WPVI reported that McCord was being investigated for alleged theft of campaign and other funds. The Morning Call in Allentown subsequently confirmed that report and also reported that the probe has been going on...

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan has pretended to be a pro-life Catholic for years but now he says that talking to women helped change his mind into becoming pro-choice. This, of course, is malarkey. I don't understand how talking to anyone could convince anyone that a baby is not a human being. I'm thinking he wanted to cash those fat checks from EMILY's List and Planned Parenthood. Hey, baby killers' checks don't bounce. He wrote in an op-ed, "These women gave me a better understanding of how complex and difficult certain situations can become. And while there are people of good...

When Paul Martin was paying down our debt & creating surpluses in Canada, Bush was giving the US a war debt. #CdnPolipic.twitter.com/BvA5JrrDus — Meanwhile in Canada (@MeanwhileinCana) January 19, 2015 Mo Brooks: Republicans Back NSA Spying, Only Voted Against It To Avoid Campaign Attacks Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) told constituents on Tuesday that many Republicans in fact supported the National Security Agency's domestic spying programs, and had only recently opposed a measure to scale back the agency's broad data surveillance in order to avoid attracting primary challengers and attacks. Speaking at a town hall in Morgan County, Brooks -- who...

As she reportedly lays the groundwork for an all-but-declared presidential run in 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton leads Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts by commanding margins in new polls testing Democrats’ preference for their 2016 presidential nominee. In a head-to-head matchup, Mrs. Clinton leads Mrs. Warren, 62 percent to 22 percent, when respondents were asked who they would vote for if the 2016 Democratic presidential primary were held in their state today, according to a Rasmussen poll. Sixteen percent were undecided and 18 percent said they had not heard of Mrs. Warren.

Albany is terrified and in disarray after Assembly Speaker Sheldon SilverÂ’s arrest, with lawmakers and insiders fearing heÂ’ll turn on them to save himself. Â“People are scratching their heads and saying, Â‘What did I say the last time I spoke to Shelly?Â’â€‰Â” one veteran Albany lobbyist told The Post on Friday. After SilverÂ’s arrest Thursday, US Attorney Preet Bharara hinted at more to come, telling the public to Â“stay tuned.Â” Now legislators are questioning why SilverÂ’s closest Democratic colleagues, including Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, have pledged support for him instead of calling for his resignation. Â“They want Shelly to...

Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene, who made his fortune by betting against homeowners in the mortgage and credit crisis, has been mouthing off about the lifestyle that the rest of us enjoy. He thinks it’s too much — even though he owns America’s most expensive single-family house! The former U.S. Senate wannabe took advantage of his presence at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland to tell a worldwide audience via Bloomberg News that we, the common people, need to have fewer things. ... Greene is also known in these parts for making contractors who work on his $36 million-,...

Hillary Rodham Clinton holds double-digit leads over potential Republican challengers Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney as the likely Democratic presidential candidate moves closer to entering the 2016 race, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. Although Clinton, Bush and Romney are all longtime politicians and members of political dynasties, registered voters are less likely to count that familiarity against Clinton. That is a good sign for Clinton, a failed 2008 presidential candidate and the focus of Republican criticism that her time has come and gone. Clinton’s potential to make history as the first female U.S. president makes little difference to...

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who bent state government to his will for more than 20 years as one of New York's most powerful and canny politicians, was arrested Thursday on charges of taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. The 70-year-old Democrat was taken into custody by the FBI on federal conspiracy and bribery charges that carry up to 100 years in prison and could cost him his political seat. He was released on $200,000 bail.

The speaker of the New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, was arrested on federal corruption charges on Thursday and accused of using the power of his office for more than a decade to secure millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks and then covering up his schemes, according to court documents. Mr. Silver, a Democrat from the Lower East Side of Manhattan who has served as speaker for more than two decades, is accused of a range of corrupt dealings that capitalized on his official position. They include using his position to obtain corrupt payments misrepresented as referral fees from...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A Democrat has refiled a proposal banning abortions after 20 weeks gestation in West Virginia, despite its veto last year. On Tuesday, Fayette County Del. David Perry reintroduced the bill that Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed. It bans abortions after 20 weeks, except for when expectant mothers have certain serious medical emergencies. Leading up to last year's election, the Democratic-run House and Senate passed the proposal overwhelmingly.

First lady Michelle Obama’s 51st birthday is this week, and has it’s own jingle, but not the traditional "Happy Birthday." No, it sounds more like “cha-ching,” as in the cash register ringing up a new sale. That’s because the Democratic Party is using her 51st birthday to raise money. [Snip] Click the link to sign the card, and you get directed to a donor page seeking contributions up to $2,000.

Pueblo City Councilwoman Ami Nawrocki submitted her resignation letter to City Manager Sam Azad Tuesday (1/13/15). Nawrocki said she's calling it quits after 2 1/2 years on City Council because the recall election is hurting her family. ... Nawrocki became the target of a recall last year after she was accused of breaking state law by keeping the public out of the loop when she discussed public business over email. Former council members Sandy Daff and Chris Kaufman resigned after facing the same accusations. ... City Clerk Gina Dutcher estimates the recall will cost city taxpayers between $35,000-$50,000. That expense...

A former Republican lieutenant governor of Florida is joining attorney John Morgan's push to legalize medical marijuana statewide. Jeff Kottkamp, who served in Gov. Charlie Crist's administration, signed paperwork to lobby for a Morgan-backed bill, called the Florida for Care bill, which would expand – not overwrite – the existing "Charlotte's Web" law.

How far left was I? So far left my beloved uncle was a card-carrying member of the Communist Party in a Communist country. When I returned to his Slovak village to buy him a mass card, the priest refused to sell me one. So far left that a self-identified terrorist proposed marriage to me. So far left I was a two-time Peace Corps volunteer and I have a degree from UC Berkeley. So far left that my Teamster mother used to tell anyone who would listen that she voted for Gus Hall, Communist Party chairman, for president. I wore a...

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” - Aldous Huxley I like quotes. Quotes are wisdom for those with short attention spans. They are disregarded by many as irrelevant platitudes or obsolete; however, they are knowledge, often hard-earned and considered by their authors to be important enough to be passed on. I’ve chosen the above quote for today, not only because it is always relevant, but because we bear witness to a time where the political left of this country is trying...

Now that Prince Andrew has found himself ensnared in the sleazy sex slave story of wealthy degenerate Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton can’t be too far behind. Epstein, who paid teenage girls for naked massages at his Palm Beach, Florida mansion, is a convicted sex offender whose circle of powerful friends has included financiers, celebrities, politicians, and scientists. [Snip] While Clinton was never deposed [in a civil suit against Epstein], lawyers obtained Epstein’s computerized phone directory, which included “e-mail addresses for Clinton along with 21 phone numbers for him, including those for his assistant (Doug Band),” according to a court filing.

January 04, 2015 FoxNews.com A Missouri state senator who has made controversial comments on social media following the shooting death in Ferguson of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man who was killed by a white police officer, is facing renewed criticism over her recent remark apparently about “white privilege.” State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal apparently said on Twitter: "LET ME BE CLEAR. When you exercise your #WhitePrivilege, don't think I'm not going to remember. I will use it for the future. Uncomfortable?" The tweet by Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat, drew sharp responses on Twitter, including suggestions that she was making racist comments...

Donald Montgomery, a decorated retired police detective who served in the United States Navy, says in a lawsuit that his pistol permit and four handguns were seized by authorities in New York after he sought medical treatment for insomnia, the Daily Caller reported Friday. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who once said conservatives who oppose gun control aren't welcome in his state, and several other state officials are named as defendants in the lawsuit filed on December 18.

A look at political donations shows that the big-dollar contributors put their money on the Democrats. So which group is really the party of the rich? For decades, the Democrats have been getting away with portraying Republicans as hateful men who do the bidding of the wealthy at the expense of the country's poor and middle class. Yet as the Associated Press reported just before Christmas, "it's actually the liberal-minded who shelled out the most cash in the just completed midterm elections." What's more, "the two biggest super PACs of 2014," the "Senate Majority PAC and House Majority PAC," were...

**SNIP** Paul Begala, Democratic media consultant Santa is definitely a Democrat. Rather than cater to the wealthiest one percent he rewards people who work hard and play by the rules. And while he's not a participant in the first lady's anti-obesity campaign he's very concerned about climate change. After all, Rudolph can fly but he can't swim. **SNIP** Billy Moore, Democratic lobbyist My sister Kiki suggests he is a Democrat: "He cares about all the children, rich or poor. He cares about the elf's as workers and he believes there is good in the world to be celebrated not just...

Democratic Virginia state delegate Joseph Morrissey, who reached a plea agreement for charges relating to a sexual relationship he had with his 17-year-old office assistant, is yet to decide whether he will resign or commute to work from jail. The 57-year-old Democratic representative for Henrico county was sentenced to 12 months in jail with 6 months suspended for charges of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” according to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Morrissey’s lawyers say that he will be allowed to continue his work in the general assembly and his private law practice as part of a...

Democrats Vote to Shut Down Government December 11, 2014 by Rush Limbaugh BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Okay. We have a vote on the rule on the budget resolution in the House called the cromnibus omnibus and it's a little bit in the weeds to explain this,therefore nobody better than me to do it.What just happened isthat THE RULE setting the stage for the vote later BARELY PASSED.They had to vote on the rule, the procedure, in order to set the stage for the vote on the final passage of the omnibus bill in the House of Representatives. The vote was...

Friend of Hillary??? McAllen police have released dashcam video from 13th Court Justice of Appeals Nora Longoria’s traffic stop that led to her DWI arrest. The dash cam video shows Longoria performing a field sobriety test. The footage shows she struggled to walk a straight line, and even stumbled several times during the test. According to a police report, she allegedly told him "Please let me go home. I live a couple of miles away” and "You are going to ruin my life. The case went to court November 20th, but the charges were dropped. DA Rene Guerra told Action...

Friday, 05 December 2014 Jeb Bush Will Not Run as a Conservative Written by Steve Byas Jeb Bush Will Not Run as a Conservative His father and his brother captured the Republican nomination for president, posing as conservatives, then governed as moderates. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (shown), however, appears determined to chart a different course. If he does make a bid for president, this Bush is sending clear signals that it will not be as a conservative. After two previous Bush presidencies, in which conservative positions were adopted sporadically, this should not come as a surprise. But, following the...

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is leaving it to the governor's office to defend a lawsuit challenging a National Rifle Association-backed law that was designed to dismantle illegal municipal firearms ordinances, officials said Friday. A spokesman for Gov. Tom Corbett said the governor's legal office will defend the law against the challenge led by Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Lancaster. Kane's office sent word earlier in the week that she would not take the case. Corbett, a Republican who opposes new forms of gun control, signed the law last month. The law widens the ability of the NRA or gun owners to...

Am I missing something …? : I think Obama’s executive amnesty is probably unconstitutional, and in any case it’s bad policy. A Congress mindful of its place in our democracy would stop it on balance-of-powers grounds alone. I also share Byron York’s puzzlement over why, exactly, it has to be stopped now, as opposed to after January when Republicans will have majorities in both Houses. What I (and others) also don’t understand, though, is why the Republican House can’t at least try now, by attaching a defunding “rider” to whatever budget bill it decides to pass. (There are lots of...

A former Democratic congressional aide has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two women who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. [Snip] Donny Ray Williams pleaded guilty Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court. Williams had served as a staff director for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee. [Snip] Prosecutors plan to seek a suspended prison term and five years of supervised probation.

A California Democrat said a lesson in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting is a need to look at police acting as “jury and executioner” when confronting suspects. Rep. Karen Bass, a House Judiciary Committee member, said in a statement after the grand jury opted to not issue an indictment this week that it “continues a trend of injustice that has rightfully created an environment of anger and concern in Ferguson, Missouri and across the United States.” “Ferguson officials botched this case from the beginning when they left Michael Brown’s body on the street for over four hours after...

TUCSON — U.S. Rep. Ron Barber filed a federal lawsuit on Monday seeking to stop certification of the 2nd Congressional District race in Arizona as his campaign argued for including ballots that were rejected in the Nov. 4 election. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Tucson is the latest attempt by the Tucson-area Democrat to challenge the results that had him losing to Martha McSally by 161 votes. Barber wants 133 disqualified votes to be counted before the election is certified. The results are headed for an automatic recount that will begin next week, as mandated by state law...